Reshaping

Social Media. Half of us are on it…and I’m only stating this because half of my readers come from various social medias.

I read an article called “How Social Media is Reshaping News” on Pew Research Centre and they go through 5 points on how social media has completely changed the distribution and delivery of news content.

In this post I’m going to pick two out of the five points I found most interesting, summarize them and use several examples to reinforce this idea because I truly think social media has contributed a lot in the growth of social communication. As you read, keep in mind that the stats used are strictly American and do not apply in Canada.

“HOW DO SOCIAL MEDIA SITES STACK UP ON NEWS?

Americans get their news several ways; newspapers, TV, radio and now social media. But which form of social media do you think most Americans get their content from?

According to the article, 64% of American adults get their news content from Facebook. That accounts for 30% of the American population. The second leading in news delivery is YouTube. 10% of American adults get their content through visual format. If you don’t have access to cable but have access to the internet, YouTube gives you just that. You can go on CNN, BBC, CBC, City TV or whichever news outlet’s YouTube channel to get their news content because it’s just that easy. Twitter came in 3rd with 8% of the population getting their news from there. But what surprised me most, is reddit coming in last (or mentioned at all) with 3% of the population getting their content from there. It surprised me because I’m not the biggest reddit fan, and I find it complicated to get any information out of there in the first place.

Let me answer this one for you… A LOT. Lately, with all of the events happening around the world, I have felt the need to express myself on the issues. I feel I’ve learned a lot throughout the last few years and it has helped me shape various perspectives. When I share or retweet a certain situation, I give people a glimpse of my perspectives. But lately, I feel it may backlash because of the career I want. It is crucial to maintain a very clean and respectable reputation in the industry because after all who are you may affect the work and image of others. Sad but true. Just two weeks ago after the announcement of the Boston bomber’s sentencing, someone posted on a Facebook page on the matter and I decided to also speak my opinion. I was able to have interesting and informative discussions with people on the topic. But when I mentioned this to a fellow classmate, she immediately told me to watch out for what I post as this may potentially harm future jobs because not everyone may agree or like my perspectives. She was right! In the article, they demonstrate how 40% of twitter users are “very unwilling” to discuss any topic related to government surveillance programs. So now that social media has potentially improved social communication, you can’t fully communicate or express your opinions. What you decide to voice our opinions on may backlash against you. So much for “Freedom of Speech” no?

So these are my thoughts on how social media has reshaped the distribution and delivery of news content based on the article mentioned above!

Let me know what you think! Or tell me what’s your favorite social media outlet? Why do you like it and what do you use it for?

2 Comments

I loved your post and your personal experience you shared. I agree with what you said. I think with social media there is this belief that you are free to voice your opinion and that it will help inform people of world issues and important news. But I’ve seen so many times what happens to people who voice their opinions when it’s not popular. For example, a few weeks ago Michelle Beadle, a female journalist criticized Floyd Mayweather (Boxing Champion) for his pattern of domestic abuse. She was banned from the press line by Mayweather’s team. To add to that fact, instead of people defending her for voicing her opinion, they attacked her on social media. I think part of the reason she was attacked wasn’t because they supported domestic abuse, but because they weren’t aware of Mayweather’s history of abuse. Therefore, I hope that social media will be able to not just shape how we report news but how we discuss it too.

Maybe it is better to be cautious about commenting on social platforms because caution can mean we actually take time to reflect on what’s being said before make a knee jerk comment. Janet’s example of the Mayweather issue goes to show that even professional journalists face the same problem.